Is the position on Calvinism, that God created people who he would never save, and they will live a short meaningless life only to burn in hell for all eternity with never having even the slightest possibility of avoiding it?

The other position is everyone has a free will choice to choose or reject God, and because they chose to reject, they go to hell and it's their fault.

Suppose you came to the conclusion Calvinism was true all along, are you fine with that, and would it bother you?

And I wanted to give my stance on the matter, I have no idea, and I'm honestly not too concerned I'm more focused on just living the way God would like me to live than figuring out how everything works. If I find out it's true I accept it and move on, I am a believer so I have no reason to be concerned if its true.

But if Calvinism is saying that some believers are not elect and predestined to hell and we HAVE NO IDEA WHO IT IS, and i find that out then yes i would be really concerned.

John Emmett

Artwork partially created using artificial intelligence.

Please pray that if it is God's will my pain will go away and there is nothing seriously wrong. Please ask God to cure my digestive system and other issues. Also please pray for the health and happiness for my son Jakeb and husband robb. I ask in the name of Jesus and thank you so much. God bless you. Carmen.

A federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of individuals arrested in Illinois as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, known as "Operation Midway Blitz."

Another activist judge trying to usurp power from the Executive Branch.

Across the centuries, Church crypts — from Roman catacombs to American cathedrals — testify that death is not the end but the beginning of eternal life.

In the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland, a chapel adjoins the north transept. There’s a wrought-iron gate with Requiescant in Pace fashioned above the entrance. It’s the cathedral’s burial crypt, containing the tombs of the deceased bishops of Cleveland.

While a “crypt” implies a place under or below a structure, Cleveland’s cathedral burial chamber on the ground floor, named the Resurrection Chapel, reflects that definition as well as the tradition of burial crypts throughout the history of Christianity. It is significant that figures of both St. Peter and St. Paul are prominent on the Resurrection Chapel’s upper half of the north wall, as both martyrs of the early Church were buried in crypts: St. Peter below the altar in the basilica that bears his name, and St. Paul, buried under what is now the papal altar of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

“Every ordinary, that is, a bishop of a diocese, is a member of that diocese and has a right to be buried in the cathedral crypt,” Bishop Roger Gries, retired auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, explained to the Register.

A contemporary example of a burial crypt is below the apse of one of the most famous churches in the world, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, which began construction on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1882, and is set to be completed in 2026. The visionary behind the mammoth basilica, Catalan architect Venerable Antoni Gaudí, is buried in the Sagrada Familia Crypt. The crypt, completed in 1889, is the oldest part of the basilica.

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Future generations will not look kindly on those who betrayed the truth for comfort and career advancement.

The reckoning is finally arriving, echoing the dilemma in Eugene Genovese’s powerful essay, ‘The Question’. Writing in 1994, Genovese confessed that he and many others had remained loyal to the Soviet Union long after they knew about the mass killings and the gulags. ‘For many years’, he admitted, ‘I have lived in dread of having to answer The Question… “What did you know, and when did you know it?”’ Eventually, he acknowledged the uncomfortable truth: ‘We knew everything essential and knew it from the beginning.’ Many mainstream journalists will soon find themselves confronting the same question.

The sudden resignations this week of BBC director-general Tim Davie and CEO of news Deborah Turness has focussed minds on the role of the media. It has been startling – and grimly predictable – to watch senior figures at the BBC scrambling to defend their failures by muttering darkly about ‘right-wing conspiracies’ and ‘inside jobs’. Few, if any, have paused to consider whether the real problem might be their own cowardice.

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For example, a young man just starting college is murdered. He didn't get to live a long life, while someone else becomes a believer in their 40's.

The person in their 40's had more time to accept Jesus, yet the young man didn't. It seems unfair, but what does the Bible say?

Was the young man probably never would have been a believer anyway? Are we sometimes saved not only because we accepted Jesus, but by chance we survived long enough to accept Jesus as our God? Or does this not make any sense?

The Czech Republic, known for its historical heritage, fairytale castles, and medieval architecture, is considered the most atheist country in Europe.

Evangelization in this land — which still bears the scars of a past marked by communism and division — is a constant challenge but not an impossible goal. Czech missionaries say they perceive “miraculous touches of God’s presence” in a society increasingly thirsting for love and truth.

Approximately 80% of the Czech Republic’s more than 10.5 million inhabitants claim to have no religious affiliation. Although about a third of the population say they believe in God — in many cases without being linked to a specific denomination — only 9.4% identify as Catholic.

Nearly a quarter of Czechs declare themselves atheist, according to the 2017 Pew Survey on European Values, making the country one of the most secularized on the continent. Comparing census results since 1991 reveals a clear decline in church membership and an increase in personal belief in God without institutional affiliation.

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a new translation of the Bible, which will be used for personal Bibles, the lectionary at Mass, and the text in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Bishop Steven Lopes, chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, announced the translation will be called the “Catholic American Bible.” The translation for personal Bibles and the Liturgy of the Hours will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2027.

The bishops have not announced when the revised lectionaries will be available.

The USCCB also approved a Spanish-language translation of the New Testament, the Biblia de la Iglesia en América, which will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2026.

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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has declared that the alleged apparitions of Jesus in Dozulé, France, do not have an authentic divine origin and are therefore “not supernatural.”

The prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, confirmed the declaration based on the Norms for Discerning Alleged Supernatural Phenomena in a document released Nov. 12 and addressed to the bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, Jacques Habert.

In 1972, Madeleine Aumont claimed that Jesus had appeared to her, asking the Church to build a giant “glorious cross” in Dozulé, next to a “shrine of reconciliation.” Furthermore, the alleged visionary claimed that Jesus had announced his “imminent” return.

In the document, the Vatican authority notes that the alleged apparitions in the Normandy town “have elicited spiritual interest” but also “not a few controversies and difficulties of a doctrinal and pastoral nature” that require clarification.

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Sister Mary Michael of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, PCPA, died on Nov. 10 after roughly three-quarters of a century of religious life. She was 94.

Sister Mary Michael was the last of the original five nuns who, along with EWTN foundress Mother Angelica, began the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale, Alabama. (The monastery is now located in Hanceville; EWTN, the parent company of CNA, remains in Irondale.)

Born Evelyn Shinosky on Feb. 25, 1931, to Joseph and Helen Shinosky, she entered Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 15, 1951, and received the habit and her new name the following May.

Sister Mary Michael made her first profession on May 1, 1954, and her solemn profession exactly six years later in 1960. Shortly after her solemn profession she joined Mother Angelica to journey to Alabama to help found the new monastery.

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Looking to get a little more insight from multiple people from multiple backgrounds on this. Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

-When you first became a Christian, what did you expect life in the church to be like?

-What were your hopes or assumptions about how things would go?

-What was your first experience with the church community?

-Did those expectations match reality, or were there surprises?

-How do you feel now about your place in the church?

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa laid out his positions on a number of topics, including the talks about a security arrangement with Israel, in an interview with The Washington Post following his historic visit to the White House on Monday.

Before the first-ever visit by a Syrian president, reports indicated that a new security arrangement might be announced. However, the discussions appear to be ongoing despite no official statement being made.

The interviewer asked al-Sharaa how he planned to “protect Syrian sovereignty,” given the “repeated attacks by the Israeli military” against his country.

After the collapse of the Assad regime, Israel destroyed most of Syria’s heavy military equipment and, several months later, targeted sites and forces affiliated with al-Sharaa’s new regime after they took part in attacks on the Druze community in southern Syria.

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Tensions have escalated in Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 12 people and injured dozens by blowing himself up in the capital, making it the first strike against civilians in the area in more than a decade.

The attack outside a lower court in Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, which wounded at least 27 people on top of the dozen murdered, came when the area is typically crowded with visitors, the Associated Press notes.

There are conflicting reports on whether Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter terrorist group that broke away from the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, as reporters claim to have gotten messages from the group's leader claiming responsibility. However, a commander within the group stated in WhatsApp messages that the group wasn't responsible.

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This hits dead center on what the Reformers and those who came after them believed on this..

'The Antichrist According to the Protestant Reformers
The following quotations show what some of the most influential Protestant Reformers and early Christian leaders believed about Antichrist (“the little horn” (Daniel 7:8), “the beast” (Revelation 13:1), and “the man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran):​

“Luther … proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy … And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror siezed their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated on the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow on Rome.” History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, by J. H. Merle D’aubigne’s, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.

Martin Luther declared, “We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.” (Aug. 18, 1520). The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Le Roy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121.

John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian):​

“Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy.” Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian):​

John Knox sought to counteract “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church.” As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.” The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican):​

“Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.

Roger Williams (1603-1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America):​

Pastor Williams spoke of the Pope as “the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself…speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2).” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647):​

“There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God.” The Creeds of Christendom With a History and Critical Notes, by Philip Schaff’s, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian):​

“The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom’s book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley (1703-1791) (Methodist):​

Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers… He it is…that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped…claiming the highest power, and highest honour…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses​

“Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist.” All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen, Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.'.....https://bibleask.org/who-did-the-reformers-identify-as-the-antichrist/

It just keeps getting incredible what the Pope is backing away from. Well, looks like the Pope is retracting more than a few things, now they are backing away from the apparitions that have been claimed of Jesus. Catholics believe that figures such as Jesus and Mary can appear supernaturally, known as apparitions, to share religious messages, inspire devotion, or call for peace. But now the Pope seems to be taking steps in backing away from this long held conviction.

"Jesus may answer prayers but he has not made special appearances in a small town in the north of France, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

In a new instruction approved by Pope Leo, the Vatican's top doctrinal office said stories of appearances by Jesus in the town of Dozule, in Normandy, were not to be considered genuine by the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

A Catholic mother in the town had reported seeing Jesus 49 times during the 1970s, and said he had dictated a series of messages and told her to build a 7.38-metre (24.21-foot) cross on a hillside in the town.

"The phenomenon of the alleged apparitions ... is to be regarded, definitively, as not supernatural in origin, with all the consequences that flow from this determination," said the text issued by the doctrinal office.

Catholics believe religious figures such as Jesus and Mary can make supernatural appearances, called apparitions, to offer religious messages, create new devotional practices or make general appeals for peace.

The Vatican has a formal evaluation process for assessing claimed appearances, and it warns against use of alleged phenomena for monetary gain.

The Vatican also recently issued a decree clarifying the titles Catholics can use for Mary. That text said Mary cannot be called the "co-redeemer" of the world, since Catholics believe Jesus alone redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death."

Jesus did not appear on hill in France, Vatican says | Reuters .

Especially young men are realizing how wrong is the hate speech and the tactics by radical groups opposing conservatism and Christian/Judeo values.

What we need is an economy that works for most Americans, and not gimmicks like one time $2000 "rebates" and 50 year mortgages.

And by most Americans I mean everyone whos willing to work. We are nowhere near that. Loads of hardworking people are right on the edge or going backward economically.

Just my opinion. I know its not popular.

Hello everyone, we have studied this topic for decades, and I hope you find our findings interesting.

We do not use unbiblical names for the congregation, because the congregation belongs to God. This means that we have been bought for Him with the precious blood of Jesus. (Revelation 1:5–6) His one flock (John 10:16), without nameplates, is equal to His congregation.

Note, therefore, the ownership:
– “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth.” (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1)
– “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:32; 11:16; 15:9)
– “…neither the churches of God.” (1 Corinthians 11:16)
– “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God?” (1 Corinthians 11:22)
– “…how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.” (Galatians 1:13)
– “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 2:14)
– “…that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” (1 Timothy 3:15)

The congregation is therefore God’s! That is why we use only this biblical name for it.

It is also biblical to name according to the locality. For example, 1 Thessalonians 1:1: “unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” In the same way one may say, for example, the congregation of Turku, the congregation of Helsinki, the congregation of Tampere, and so on.

We who live in the same city, having come to faith and then been baptized according to the Scriptures, are the congregation of our own locality. (Titus 1:5; Revelation 1:11) — And NOTE! According to the Bible, the congregation does not include the unbaptized. Such have not yet come into the same faith in which the first Christians were. (Acts 2:41) —

To what, then, should you join yourself? — Join yourself to Jesus in the way that the Bible teaches! Then you belong to His congregation.

Man-made nameplates over meeting places are elements of division, which every believer should remove from his own life, so that he no longer functions under such.

WE are not Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, Adventists, Free Church members, or ecumenicals, or any other -ists and -isms. We are neither Catholics nor Protestants… We are only children of God, bought with the blood of Jesus. We belong to the same congregation as the first Christians. (John 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 Peter 2:15, etc.)

The Bible does not teach Lutheranism, Pentecostalism, or any other -ism..

Blessings to us!

Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email: weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi
writings: In English

The Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has launched a campaign to give ultrasound equipment to pregnancy care centers in pro-choice states.

Known as “Across State Lines,” the endeavor was officially launched last week, being an extension of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project, with a greater emphasis on providing the equipment in states where abortion is legal in most or virtually all circumstances.

ERLC interim President Gary Hollingsworth told The Christian Post that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, “we saw how the Lord was working and stirring a cooperative spirit within Southern Baptist life to support pregnancy centers in abortion-permissible states.”

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Campaign says he's never subscribed to OnlyFans or used escort service

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, who has railed against Christian nationalism while making his status as "a Presbyterian seminarian" a key part of his campaign for U.S. Senate, was found to be following OnlyFans models, porn stars and prostitutes on Instagram.

Talarico, a 36-year-old Democrat who has represented the liberal Austin area in the state House of Representatives since 2018 and announced a Senate run in September, also exchanged a private message with an OnlyFans model to thank her for her support, according to a report first published last week by Axios.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, who has railed against Christian nationalism while making his status as "a Presbyterian seminarian" a key part of his campaign for U.S. Senate, was found to be following OnlyFans models, porn stars and prostitutes on Instagram.

Talarico, a 36-year-old Democrat who has represented the liberal Austin area in the state House of Representatives since 2018 and announced a Senate run in September, also exchanged a private message with an OnlyFans model to thank her for her support, according to a report first published last week by Axios.

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Dear fellow Christians,

I've come across these very distinctive tiles and am hoping some of you might have insights into their origin, age, or any potential historical or religious symbolism they might carry. The patterns are quite intricate, and I'm particularly interested if they relate to any specific Christian historical period, culture, or architectural style.

I've attached an image for reference. Any knowledge or theories you could share would be greatly appreciated!

Blessings.

Hundreds of Korean engineers who were arrested and detained during an immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia in September are preparing to sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alleging unlawful detention and mistreatment.

According to industry sources and a report by ABC News earlier this week, roughly 200 of those detained in the weeklong ordeal are preparing to file a lawsuit against ICE, alleging racial discrimination, human rights violations and excessive use of force during their arrests and detention. They are seeking compensation for damages.

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“To this day, we still don’t know why we were detained like that. There has been no apology or explanation from the authorities,” said Kim, one of the detained workers who spoke to ABC News on condition of anonymity. He added that this was one of the main reasons he decided to join the lawsuit.

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The article doesn't say where they are filing the lawsuit, but I'd assume South Korea? Will have to see if other articles clarify this.